Kira Orange Jones might have to give up BESE seat

State ethics board will decide whether her work for Teach for America presents a conflict of interest

Kira Orange Jones, who toppled two-term incumbent Louella Givens last fall in a hard-fought contest to represent the bulk of New Orleans on the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, might have to give up her seat. A recent draft opinion from the Louisiana Ethics Administration found that Orange Jones can't simultaneously sit on the board and keep her job as local director at Teach for America while the organization holds a $1 million state contract that requires board approval. If the state ethics board decides to accept the opinion during a hearing set for next month, it could force a special election to find a replacement for the board's 2nd District, which covers most of the city as well as parts of Jefferson and the River Parishes.

Kira Orange Jones

Orange Jones plans to argue that recusing herself from a vote on TFA contracts is enough and that her position doesn't represent a conflict, because TFA holds a contract with the state Department of Education rather than the board.

"I don't know that the only option is for her to step down," Board President Penny Dastugue said. "Other board members have had real or perceived conflicts and have recused themselves from voting on certain contracts. I think that may be an option for her."

Dastugue noted that the board also has a sitting superintendent, Walter Lee, and an administrator at a local school district, Lottie Beebe, who both vote on matters that have a direct impact on their employers.

Orange Jones could presumably cure the conflict by quitting her job with TFA, but her board position carries no salary, making that possibility unlikely.

Should Orange Jones have to step aside, it would not do much to alter the board's leanings. It is stacked with a comfortable majority who more or less support the state's recent approach to improving schools: growing the number of independent charter schools, imposing more stringent teacher evaluations and most recently, expanding the use of private-school vouchers for low-income families.

Gov. Bobby Jindal prefaced his second-term education policy overhaul in the state Legislature with a concerted effort to win a supermajority on the board last year, a step needed to win approval for his pick of state superintendent, former New York City education official John White.

Jindal did not explicitly endorse Orange Jones, a Democrat, although some wealthy backers of the same reform ideas did -- and put big money into her campaign war chest. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg even made an appearance on her list of contributors.

Jim Babst, an attorney for Orange Jones, said she requested an opinion from the Ethics Administration back in February.

The draft opinion, first reported Thursday by The Lens, cites a combination of statutes that prohibit public servants from taking anything "of economic value" from a person or entity seeking a contract with public agency they serve.

In other words, the ruling says Orange Jones can't draw a salary from TFA while the group maintains and looks to renew a contract that she is in a position to vote on. The Department of Education and the state's Recovery School District rely on TFA to help staff hundreds of classrooms in underserved areas with recruits from the country's top colleges and universities.

Babst argues there's a flaw in that line of thinking. The state board of education, commonly known as BESE, might have to sign off on that contract, he said, but the agreement is still with the Department of Education, not the board

"BESE and the LDE and the RSD are all different agencies," he said. "The fact is that TFA contracts with the department and the RSD and not with BESE."